THE rich air is sweet with the breath of September, The sumach is staining the hedges with red; Soft rests on the hill-slopes the light we remember, The glory of days which so long ago fled,— When, brown-cheeked and ruddy, Blithe-hearted and free, The summons to study We answered with glee. Listen, oh! listen once more to the swell Of the masterful, merry Academy bell! It sounds not in vain over mountain and valley, That tocsin which gathers the far-scattered clans; From playtime and leisure fleet-footed they rally, Brave lads and bright lasses, o'erflowing with plans; From croquet and cricket To blackboard and map, Is but shooting a wicket; No fear of mishap. Oh hark! how it echoes through dingle and dell, The jocund, the earnest Academy bell! They fly, at its call, from soft mother caresses; The boy will not tarry, the girl cannot wait; So the round head close-clipped and the loose flowing tresses Together flash out from the vine-trellised gate; And the house that was holden By revel supreme, Is wrapped in the golden Fair peace of a dream. To sisters and mothers how silvern the swell Of the rest-bringing, easeful Academy bell. The path by the river, where willows are drooping, Is radiant with children. The long city street, All busy with traffic, makes room for their trooping, And rings to the rush of their beautiful feet. For the poet and preacher, The man of affairs, And the gentle home-teacher, O'er-burdened with cares, Alike spare a moment to wishing them well, Who speed when they hear the Academy bell. God bless them, our darlings! God give them full measure Of joy at the fountains of wisdom and truth; We tenderly view the enchantment of pleasure Which royally lies on the days of their youth; For, brown-cheeked and ruddy, When children at home, That summons to study Once called us to come; And voices departed we hear in the swell Of the never-forgotten Academy bell. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AT CASTERBRIDGE FAIR: 5. THE INQUIRY by THOMAS HARDY THE OWL AND THE PUSSY CAT by EDWARD LEAR THE FIRST SNOWFALL by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL ETUDE REALISTE by ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE ON THE DEATHS OF THOMAS CARLYLE AND GEORGE ELIOT by ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE IDYLLS OF THE KING: LANCELOT AND ELAINE by ALFRED TENNYSON BETWEEN WAND AND WELT by MARGARET AHO |